Health Literacy Levels Among Adult Support Group Members and the General Adult Public : A Focus Group Approach

Health literacy has been identified as lacking in 47% of Americans (The National Academies, 2004). While health literacy reports of studies conducted in the southern section of the United States are available (DeWalt et al., 2004; Kennen et al. 2005), this research team found limited research that provides health literacy levels of the southeast, rural Georgia population. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine and compare health literacy of health-related support group members and non group members in southeast Georgia utilizing a focus group methodology developed by Kreuger (1994). After Institutional Review Board approval at a local university, the research team utilized 5-10 established Health-related Support Groups of 6-10 individuals in the southeastern part of the United States. An additional four focus groups composed of persons not associated with a health-related support group were also used for comparative purposes. Participants were recruited with the assistance of local health care providers. The initial open-ended questions consisted of items such as: “Describe your experience reading health resources.” What makes a health resource difficult to read, as well as easy to read? The moderator utilized additional probing questions and reframing comments as necessary (Kreuger, 1994). The data were analyzed by the qualitative content analysis method described by Berg (1989). The themes that emerged across groups reflected confusion about medication directions, health terms, and communication from health care providers and doubt about the integrity of and inability to read the small print of health information. Prevention and faith in God were identified as important to self-care. Rationales for themes and future research ideas are discussed

Changes in Swim Performance and Perceived Stress and Recovery in Female Collegiate Swimmers Across a Competitive Season

Optimal sport performance involves balancing the accumulation of training stress with adequate recovery (Budgett, 2000; Hollander & Meyers, 1995). Continuous evaluation of an athlete\u27s performance levels, stress levels, and recovery states during a competitive season is important in determining an athlete\u27s readiness for competition. Limited examination of these three factors appears for collegiate athletes; thus this study\u27s purpose was to examine effects of training load on psychological and performance variables among collegiate female athletes across a competitive season. Nineteen NCAA Division I female swimmers completed monthly testing including six tethered swim tests and seven Recovery-Stress Questionnaires (RESTQ-76), yielding mean force (Fmean) and Total Recovery-Stress Score (TRSS). Individual session Rated Perceived Exertion scales (RPE) were used to categorize participants into Training Load Groups (TLG). Analysis revealed no significant interaction between TLG, and either TRSS or Fmean. There were significant time effects on Fmean (p=0.004): between T1 and T2 (p=0.004), and T3 and T4 (p=0.01). There were significant changes in meters completed with differences between T1 and T2 (p\u3c.001), between T4 and T5 (p\u3c.001), and between T5 and T6 (p\u3c.001). TRSS and meters completed had an inverse relationship where an increase in meters occurred concurrently with decreases in TRSS and vice versa. This study\u27s results indicate that, while there was no difference between groups for performance, perceived stress, and recovery, there were significant changes across a season that could have practical implications for athletes, coaches, and researcher

Coaches Perspective: Changes in Swim Performance and Perceived Stress and Recovery in Female Collegiate Swimmers Across a Competitive Season

Optimal sport performance involves balancing the accumulation of training stress with adequate recovery (Budgett, 2000; Hollander & Meyers, 1995). Continuous evaluation of an athlete\u27s performance levels, stress levels, and recovery states during a competitive season is important in determining an athlete\u27s readiness for competition. This study\u27s purpose was to examine effects of training load on performance, perceived stress, and recovery among collegiate female athletes across a competitive season. Nineteen NCAA Division I female swimmers completed monthly testing including six tethered swim tests and seven Recovery-Stress Questionnaires (RESTQ-76), yielding mean force (Fmean) and Total Recovery-Stress Score (TRSS). This study\u27s results indicate that, while there was no difference between groups for performance, perceived stress, and recovery, there were significant changes across a season that could have practical implications for coaches working with these athletes

Changes in Perception of Body Image for Female Athletes During the Menstrual Cycle

This presentation was given during the Association for Advancement of Sport Psychology Annual Conference

Who Will Keep the Public Healthy in Georgia?

This article was published in the Georgia Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Journal

Environmental Triggers

This article was published in the Journal of Respiratory Care Practice

Acute Effects of Trunk Stretching on Aortic Arterial Stiffness in Middle-aged to Older Adults

BACKGROUND: Aortic arterial stiffness increases with age and is associated with elevated risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Physical activity may alter the trajectory of age-related arterial stiffening. In young males, it has been demonstrated that acute trunk stretching reduces arterial stiffness and increases carotid arterial compliance, but whether such benefits translate to middle-aged to older males and females is less clear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of acute trunk stretching using an exercise ball on aortic arterial stiffness and arterial wave reflections in middle-aged to older adults. METHODS: We measured carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV; an index of aortic arterial stiffness) and augmentation index normalized to a heart rate of 75 beats per minute (AIx75; an index of arterial wave reflection and myocardial burden) in 13 middle-aged to older adults (6M/7F; 70 ± 9 yrs; 31.1 ± 4.4 kg/m2; Means ± SD) before and 10-min after partner-assisted passive trunk stretching and a time-matched control visit, the order of which was randomized. The passive stretching visit consisted of six trunk stretches (flexion, extension, and bi-directional lateral flexion and standing rotation). For each participant, the first stretch was randomized. Each stretch was held for 30 seconds, followed by 30 seconds of relaxation, and this sequence was repeated 5 times in rotational order for a total of 30 minutes. The time-matched control visit consisted of 30 minutes of quiet seated upright rest. Visits were separated by a minimum of 48 hours (average separation = 7 ± 9 days). A repeated measures linear mixed model was used to compare changes (Δ; post - pre) in cf-PWV and AIx75 between visits. RESULTS: Average resting cf-PWV during the two visits was 9.01 ± 1.4 m/s and AIx75 was 34.8 ± 7.6 %. Changes in cf-PWV were similar between trunk stretching (-0.09 ± 0.64 m/s) and control (0.23 ± 0.62 m/s) visits, without adjustment for mean arterial pressure (p = 0.218) and with adjustment (p = 0.969). Likewise, changes in AIx75 were similar (p = 0.151) between trunk stretching (0.50 ± 4.20 %) and control visits (-2.42 ± 5.72 %). CONCLUSION: These preliminary findings indicate that acute trunk stretching using an exercise ball does not alter aortic arterial stiffness or arterial wave reflections in middle-aged to older adults